Times-Chronicle Staff

A 78-year-old Oliver man has been charged for illegally shooting a deer in a residential neighbourhood.

Police were called to the Morningstar Road neighbourhood last weekend for a report of a deer being shot.

A senior, who is known to police, was taken into custody and a number of firearms were seized from his residence.

Oliver RCMP Sgt. Don Wrigglesworth said police will be pursuing a firearms prohibition in this case.

The man facing charges has been embroiled in a hostile fued with some of his neighbours for several years. In 2018  a judge gave him 10 months to prove he could keep the peace with the neighbourhood, warning him not to cause any further mischief or disturbances.

At one point a group of neighbours approached the Town of Oliver to complain about his harassment. In defence, the man said his neighbours were harassing him as well.

One neighbour, who wished to remain anonymous, told the Times-Chronicle that he heard the gunshots last Saturday when two young deer were hit with small calibre bullets.

“One guy was yelling (to the suspect), ‘What have you done!?’”

The neighbour said he saw one deer flopping on the ground while another ran off with a leg wound. He then called 911 and the police arrived and euthanized the one deer on the ground.

“It was just a really heart-wrenching thing to see,” he said. “You just don’t do that to animals; it was cruelty beyond measure.”

The neighbour said that police blocked off the road during their investigation, and at one point the accused would not come to the door when officers came knocking.

“I don’t want to see him hurt (or go to jail), but I see a man who is heartless and ruthless in his actions.”

The resident said this incident is worrisome because it happened in broad daylight when a firearm was discharged in the direction of nearby homes.

“It just worries me.”

The neighbour said he finds it concerning that the accused has pushed the limits of his behaviour so far and nothing really has been done about it by authorities or the court system.

“With his track record you would think they would make something stick.”